I played through the first Infamous recently for two reasons. One, it was free and two I wanted to play through it before picking up Infamous 2. Rei Puerto already did an excellent job reviewing the first game, so I’ll just say that it’s definitely worth picking up at its discounted price (if you didn’t get it for free like I did during the PSN welcome back program).

Anyways, I railed this as a bad guy first then as a good guy on hard mode so here’s some useful knowledge for not looking like a n00b in Infamous:

Not all powers are worth leveling up. Don’t waste your XP on gigawatt blades and thunder drops when you could upgrade your basic lightning shot and grenades. Level 3 lightning bolt as a good guy not only restores your electric energy, but if you connect with a headshot, it will restore your health too. If you are a good shot, you are pretty much invincible with this (which is probably why it costs 12,000 XP so save up). As a bad guy, level 3 electric bolt will instantly cause any headshot to explode the enemy like a bomb (potentially killing his neighbors) this makes you much more lethal than before.

What's the difference? Hero powers give you more survivability and precision, while infamous powers give you more damage potential. It’s your choice.

Go all in. Whether you prefer playing hero or villain, you need to go all the way. You can’t get the best powers unless you’re 100% hero or infamous, so don’t half ass it being nice sometimes and a prick other times will leave your skills lacking.

The story plays out basically the same either way, so don’t hesitate to make your good or evil decision after the first mission, you should already know what you want to do.

Being a hero is slightly easier than a villain. As a good guy, the citizens worship you, at the height of your heroic quest, you’ve inspired them to take up arms against the baddies and clean up their streets. They will throw rocks at the bad guys and otherwise distract them as you take them out. The cops will help you, etc. As an evil bastard, the crowds will throw rocks at you (you won’t take too much damage, unless you’re standing still, but it will throw off your aim and doesn’t help when you’re in a fire fight). The cops will also target you... with guns, so it’s not quite as simple as being a good guy... but you’ve got more personal fire power.

Take a minute between missions to search for blast shards and kill some random enemies around the starting point of your next mission. Not only fun, but you’ll get more juice and XP. If you just go straight into the missions, you’ll probably not get enough XP to upgrade everything (unless you die a lot).

Once you get the static thrusters, spend some time practicing with them... you’ll need that skill in quite a few of the later missions.

When in doubt, climb. Much of the game takes place on the roof tops, and even when it doesn’t having the high ground is always an advantage.

Skip the TV broadcasts that the game keeps drawing your attention to with “point of interest”; they are completely worthless and add nothing to the story. Just ignore them and keep walking. This won't make the game easier or harder, just shorter.

If you try, you can get yourself into some areas that you aren’t supposed to be yet (like the container yard). If there’s no way out, just get any collectibles you can and then kill yourself with grenades. Later, when you’re supposed to be there, you won’t have to waste time looking for the blast shards or dead drops, just fight and get out.

Well that’s it for now Jimmys, I’ll be back with an Infamous 2 review soon, and maybe some more tips for you.

A while back Sony announced we would get free stuff in the Welcome Back Program This was a bunch of stuff from PS Home, 2 free games for PS3 and PSP and 30 days free of PS+. Also they have lame free movies for the weekend and tons of bonuses for PS+ people. This is good and all but there are CONSTANT errors going on within the Store, I don't think many people can get a hold of these games at the moment. Some people can't get inside the store, others booted out, some downlaod the game but it isn't showing up and a few other problems that need to be kinked out.

A: The content offered as part of the Welcome Back Program is available for download today and will be available through July 3.

Q: I have both PS3 and PSP. Does this mean I will get 4 games all together?A: Yes, as long as you were a PSN member before April 20, 2011, you’ll be able to receive up to 4 games based on the titles listed above; 2 on each platform.

Q: Are there any limitations to the PS3 and PSP games we are receiving as part of the Welcome Back Program?A: None. These games are yours to keep.

Q: How long do I have to get into the PlayStation Store and receive my content for Welcome Back?A: Access to the Welcome Back content will be expiring on July 3. Once this date has passed, the Welcome Back section in the PlayStation Store will be removed.

Q: When does the 30 days of my PlayStation Plus access expire?A: Your PlayStation Plus 30-day access will expire 30 days from the date you activated it in PlayStation Store.

Q: When will (insert game here) be published?A: Look forward to posts over the coming days that will show what content will be available at that point, or coming soon. We’re planning frequent store publishes offering lots of new content for everyone to enjoy.

Q: I’m getting 30 days of access to PlayStation Plus; can you refresh my memory on what I get with this service?A: From the time you activate your 30 days of PlayStation Plus, you’ll be able to download games and game related content, purchase select store items at a discount, and have access to the exclusive features of Plus. You’ll also be able to get early access to any Plus exclusive Demos and priority Beta invitations that might be scheduled during your 30 days.

Q: Do I get to keep the games in PlayStation Plus forever?A: Content that is free in PlayStation Plus will not be available after your PlayStation Plus time has expired. However, if you decide to join PlayStation Plus, you’ll have access to all of the content you downloaded during your 30 day access for as long as you are a subscriber.

Q: Do I get to keep any games or content I purchased with the PlayStation Plus discount?A: Yes. Any content you purchase at a discount is yours to keep, regardless of your subscription status.

Q: Aside from the games and discounts; does PlayStation Plus offer anything else?A: Yes! PlayStation Plus includes the Online Storage for Game Saves feature, allowing you to backup treasured game saves or access them from another PS3. In addition, you get the Automatic Download feature, which automatically updates your 10 most recently played games while the system is in stand-by mode so you don’t have to wait for updates before playing your games.

Q: What content will be in PlayStation Plus when I activate my 30 days?A: PlayStation Plus content and discounts are regularly updated throughout the month. For up-to-date information on content within PlayStation Plus, please visit the Plus homepage.

Q: Where can I find the Welcome Back content in Home?A: The 100 virtual items can be found in the kiosk in Home’s Central Plaza along with two personal spaces – Dragon’s Lair and the Mansion Garage. A new game – Ooblag’s Alien Casino – will be released soon (June 2011). This game will be 100% free-to-play. As an added bonus, players that access the Ooblag Alien Casino space will be rewarded an active item version of the Ooblag game that can be played in your personal space(s). "

UPDATE:

One of the moderators on PS Blog posted this solution to the disapearing games after selection. This worked for me but almost every time you get an error message during one of the steps, you just have to spam it until you get lucky.Select ‘Welcome Back Free PS3 Game 1′ and click on ‘Get Now’

"Press circle to go back and select your first free game
Return to the Welcome Back page and select ‘Welcome Back Free PS3 Game 2′ and click on ‘Get Now’
Press circle to go back and select your second free game
Go to the XMB(tm) to play your free games
Make sure to complete the download of each title all the way otherwise you’ll have to go into account management>transaction management>services list>SCEA Promotions to download the games."